Company of jinn and mankind! Did messengers not come from among you to recite My revelations to you, and warn you of the meeting of this Day?" They will say, "We bear witness against ourselves." It was the life of this world that deceived them and so they will bear witness against themselves, that they rejected the truth. 130 Your Lord did not want to destroy the towns, unjustly, without informing their inhabitants (of His guidance). 131 For all there will be degrees (or ranks) according to what they did. And your Lord is not unaware of what they do. 132 Your Lord is Rich and the Owner of Mercy. He can destroy you if He will and replace you with whom He pleases, just as He raised you from the offspring of other nations. 133 Indeed, what you are promised is coming, and you will not cause failure [to Allah]. 134 Say: "O my [unbelieving] people! Do yet all that may be within your power, [while] I, behold, shall labour [in God's way]; and in time you will come to know to whom the future belongs. Verily, never will evildoers attain to a happy state!" 135 AND OUT OF whatever He has created of the fruits of the field and the cattle, they assign unto God a portion, saying, "This belongs to God" - or so they [falsely] claim - "and this is for those beings who, we are convinced, have a share in God's divinity." But that which is assigned to the beings associated in their minds with God does not bring [them] closer to God - whereas that which is assigned to God brings [them but] closer to those beings to whom they ascribe a share in His divinity. Bad, indeed, is their judgment! 136 To many of the pagans, the murder of their children was made to seem attractive by the idols. This led them (the pagans) to confusion in their religion and to face their own destruction. Had God wanted, they would not have murdered their children. Keep away from them and their evil gains. 137 And they say: "Such-and-such cattle and fruits of the field are sacred; none may eat thereof save those whom we will [to do so]" - so they [falsely] claim; and [they declare that] it is forbidden to burden the backs of certain kinds of cattle; and there are cattle over which they do not pronounce God's name - falsely attributing [the origin of these customs] to Him. [But] He will requite them for all their false imagery. 138 And they say: "Whatever is in the wombs of these cattle is only meant for men and forbidden our women; but in case it should be still-born both could eat it." God will punish them for what they assert. He is all-wise and all-knowing. 139 They are lost indeed who kill their children foolishly without knowledge, and forbid what Allah has given to them forging a lie against Allah; they have indeed gone astray, and they are not the followers of the right course. 140